Sunday, September 5, 2010

The Beatles - Revolver

MINE

For my 18th birthday, my father more than doubled the size of my (vinyl) record collection by buying me The Beatles box set. Because of that I've held back on buying any of these albums on CD, but recently YourZ and I were in a music shop, and found we just had to. It's one of the things about this blog - it makes us more aware of the music we buy, and forces us to buy stuff that's really, really good.

Now I know it's difficult to name a favourite Beatles album, but this one is right up there. I adore Love You To's tabla and mock-sitar sounds, but For No One is my standout track. Sad and wistful but paying tribute to a great relationship that doesn't last.

And of course while the eight-year-old me is horrified, I really don't like Yellow Submarine any more. Sorry, Ringo.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

YOURZ

Is there anyone out there who doesn't like The Beatles? I mean, aside from the fact they always came across as lovable young rogues and that they also changed the face of modern music, they wrote an extraordinary amount of songs that have become pop standards. Of course, there are probably some Stones fans out there crying foul, but from an historical perspective, The Beatles are always going to outshine any of the other bands from the 60s.

The first piece of music I can recall hearing and recognising is a Beatles song - Michelle. I remember sitting on the kitchen floor, playing with toy cars and watching my mother, who was standing at the sink, swaying and humming along to the song as it played on the little leather-covered radio sitting on the window sill. I must have been all of 4 or 5 years of age, maybe even a little younger. Yes, that long ago. And while this song is on Revolver's predecessor, Rubber Soul, this album has one of the first songs I learnt to play on a guitar - Eleanor Rigby. (As a point of interest, I also learnt House Of The Rising Sun, Down On The Corner and Paint It Black - a well-rounded little set).

I read recently that the music you hear as a preteen (like a lot of other influences) is the music that most informs the rest of your life. This is probably why I love pop music so much, despite my tough stickers and penchant for loud rock.

I never really heard much of the Beatles till I was a teenager. Hearing them for the first time changed my outlook towards rock music. Switching over from the loud guitars and the screams of KISS was a huge thing for me. Since then, I've been more interested in the talent and the arrangements in music than the glamor.

Drew, for me, it was the opposite. I was a Beatles fan right up until I discovered KISS. But The Beatles were never forgotten and certainly, as I grew out of teenage fancies, they became more and more relevant.

I was born in '76 so my first exposure to the Beatles-- at least that I can remember-- was through George Harrison's solo work (in particular the material on his Cloud 9 album). I remember seeing and thoroughly enjoying the music videos for I've Got My Mind Set On You and When We Was Fab. At the time I knew of the Beatles but hadn't made the connection that this George Harrison fellow had been one of them.